Sacramento County
Biographies
SYLVESTER CORNELIUS TRYON
SYLVESTER CORNELIUS TRYON.--A lover of fine horses and an expert in judging them, as
shown by the records his horses have made, Sylvester Cornelius Tryon has
devoted most of his time to raising and training race horses and his stable has
been famous throughout the country. Born near Fort Wayne, Ind., January 6, 1851,
he is a son of Horatio and Abigail (Cone) Tryon, the former a native of Ohio, and the latter of Georgia. The father, wife and three children, among them the
subject of this sketch, crossed the plains by horse and mule teams in 1863, and
settled in the Sacramento Valley. Shortly after their arrival Horatio Tryon bought the
420-acre ranch, eight miles south of Sacramento, on the lower Stockton Road, and this he improved and farmed to wheat and barley.
Later he moved to Lake County, where his death occurred; the mother is still living, at
the ripe old age of ninety-five years, and makes her home in Santa Rosa. Four children were born to this pioneer couple; Emily
Jane, now deceased; Sylvester C.; Ephraim H., deceased; and Edward P., of Stockton.
Sylvester C. attended the Prairie school,
which is still standing, and his old teacher, Mrs. Nelson, is still living in Sacramento, aged ninety-three. On furnishing his schooling he farmed
the old home ranch for a time, then went to Nevada and engaged in the cattle business for eight years.
Selling his holding in that state, he returned to Sacramento and farmed the old place again, raising cattle and horses.
This home ranch is still in the possession of the family.
Mr. Tryon discontinued ranching many years
ago, finding that his real interest lay in horses, and since that time he has
devoted that time entirely to training and driving race horses. He has trained and raced horses for many of the famous horsemen of
the early days, among them John Mackey and the Haggin
brothers. He broke, trained and drove the famous horse
"Anaconda," owned by J. B. Haggin; this was
a double-gaited horse, with a trotting race record of 2:01 3/4. He also trained and drove "Hylas
Boy," "Maud Patchen" and
"Knight", the sire of "Anaconda." Mr. Tryon has
raised horses all up and down the Pacific Coast, in Montana, and on the Eastern circuit. He is the official
time-keeper, and has held that position a number of years, at the state fair
race track in Sacramento, receiving the appointment from the secretary of the National Race Track Association of Hartford Conn.
Mr. Tryon owned, among other horses,
"Pocahontas," "Clara G," "Castillo," and
"Colonel Hawkins"; and he also owned and drove the fastest double
team of trotters in the state, which won many races at the Old Bay District
back in San Francisco, and the Sacramento and Stockton race tracks; he also
owned the fastest team of pacers in the state; and "Prince," a famous
pacer, won him many races in both Sacramento and Stockton.
The marriage of Mr. Tyron united him with
Amy Leimbach, daughter of Herman Leimbach,
a pioneer of Sacramento County, and four children have been born to them. Walter H. owns
a stable of trotters at the state fair grounds, Sacramento, and is employed by C. M. Cowell,
as a trainer and driver of race horses. Ralph W. is employed in the Southern
Pacific shops. Alonzo H., who is better known as "Lonnie," started
with horses at the age of fifteen, and is now engaged in training and running
horses at Tia Juana, Cal.; he owned
"Paisley," a two-year-old that died, and "Melachrino," the fastest runner in the state, and
raced him on the Eastern circuit in 1922 with success, winning large purses,
and earned the name there of "The Western Plunger." The fourth child
is Mrs. Blanche Kirkpatrick, of Los Angeles. It will be seen that Mr. Tryon has had an eventful life,
and he has added much to the fame and romance of California.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Reed, G.
Walter, History of Sacramento
County, California With
Biographical Sketches, Pages 312-315.
Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1923.
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.